The Shores of Milera
Compendium 2020 – Story 21
By Andrew Hawnt
Captain Mason raised her glass, and Ensign Singh raised his to meet it. They nodded to each other and took a swig of the cold wine with its edge of citrus and its gentle bubbles.
“It's been quite an experience, Ensign,” said the Captain as she looked beyond the ethereal shores of Milera, Adis V's sentient sea, and to the approaching shape of a Deity class Destroyer as it descended from the heavens.
“Cheers, Captain,” Singh answered, following the Captain's gaze to their incoming deaths. “At least when we go, we'll join Milera. Our memories will be safe in there with all those others. We'll get to become part of the people that once walked these shores.”
“This war was something that nobody could win. I want you to remember that. We may have lost our ship and our crew and got stuck here alone, but there is no shame in what's about to happen.”
Singh nodded. “Do you think we'll get to the point where we just jump into Milera? There's no coming back. Do you think that, once we lose the last bits of our minds, that we'll just give ourselves to it?”
They heard the unmistakable sound of heavy cannons and planet killers from the approaching form of the ship. They heard the sounds of incoming death. The seas heard it too.
Singh drained his glass and reached for the bottle in the cooler they had salvaged from the wreck of their fallen ship. He poured a refill for them both. “Let's get drunk and die happy.”
The Destroyer broke through the clouds. As Milera rose up in a cylindrical tsunami and tore the gargantuan vessel to shreds, Mason and Singh drank to their health. Milera consumed every shred of the enormous vessel, and then the cylinder fell back to the surface, casting foam over the shores and the bare feet of the two officers. Their toes tingled as their bodies came into contact with the living sea. It knew them. It knew their hearts were good. It knew they would not hurt it.
Mason rummaged in the cooler for another bottle. “How many more do you think they'll send here for us?”
“Hard to say,” said Singh. “We're dangerous as long as we're breathing.”
“At least we're here with friends,” Mason said, nodding to the sea of souls. It churned in acknowledgement.
They raised their glasses.
(C) Andrew Hawnt 2020
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About Compendium 2020:
Compendium 2020 is a project from author Andrew Hawnt that consists of 52 original short stories, flash fiction stories and vignettes given away for FREE in 2020. Featuring science fiction, fantasy, horror and more, this began as a personal quest and due to the weirdness of 2020 has become an ambition to provide free distractions for anyone who needs them.
About Andrew Hawnt:
Andrew is based in Nottingham, England. Known for his music journalism career, comics writing and film critique work, Andrew is a prolific writer and is the author of a growing stack of books, including the cult hit VHS Ate My Brain. He made the movies The Demon And I and The Demon And I: Birthrite completely in lockdown with cast members filming their scenes remotely, and new films are coming. Andrew is also the creator and presenter of the YouTube shows Planet Hex and Turn One Shock as well as the video versions of the Compendium stories.
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